


Bats, deaths and urban myths (and what everyone else thinks about them)

by ryybonko



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Justice League - All Media Types, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Bat Brothers, Bat Family, Batfamily Shenanigans, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Bruce is a drama queen and we love him for that, Buzzfeed Unsolved References, Conspiracy Theories, Cryptids, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Humor, Mary Sue, Multi, No Angst, No beta we die like bats, Out of Character, Time Travel (Mentioned), Urban Legends, Urban Myth, cryptid bat family (but not really), supernatural elements (but not really)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-05-07 15:47:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19212562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryybonko/pseuds/ryybonko
Summary: No one believed that Batman was real until he showed up in one of the League meetings. Justice League meetings, not Assassins' League. Well... Maybe, he was there too and ninjas were too unaware to notice him. With the Bat, no one could really know. He wasn't human after all, was he?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just some drabbles in my favourite everyone-thinks-that-batfam-are-cryptids setting. English is not my first language (nor the second... Or third) so I am sorry for any mistakes you will see here.
> 
> Bruce is a Mary Sue, Leaguers are OOC, batfam is a one big happy family and Batman is A God (not really). Sorry, all the stereotypes are here, this is written purely as an attempt at humour. I am naive, I am not good with jokes, don't hate me please.
> 
> This story now has a beta! Thanks to Mystik_Owl you don't have to put up with my stupid broken English anymore💛

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batman is scary.

Bruce's cape rustled a bit when he tried to settle in the vents more comfortably. He froze when he saw Superman look around, but his lead-covered costume and sound muffling tech worked well enough to protect him from unnecessary attention. After all, it was not like he was exactly invited to the League meeting. He just showed up unannounced when he heard about the Leaguers taking interest in Gotham's mythical protector. Carefully planted bugs and Oracle's terrific hacking was everything that he needed, to know when the next meeting would hold place.

“How do you guys know if it is real?“ Whined Flash, holding an old newspaper in his hands. “All I can see in these clippings is this ‘top ten Bat-creature sightings in the last century’ and it doesn't even seem like a legit thing!”

Oh, Bruce was quite proud with that one. It was one of the falsified newspapers, he made four of them, carefully aged to look real, dated 1924. Alfred did a fantastic job writing the articles. One of the newspapers ended up in Gotham History Museum, another in the City Library, and others in private collections. Even if someone could find a real copy of that particular Gotham Gazette issue, they would think that the page about Batman was lost. That would only add to the mystery, wouldn't it?

Yes, it looked like the Leaguers took a stack of papers from the Gotham Library, and now tried to find any mentions of Batman in it. Good luck with that, Bruce thought. This was a good time for a dramatic entrance.

Wonder Woman and Superman, the only ones he was worried about noticing him emerging from the vents, had turned their backs to the wall, Flash was reading the article, and Aquaman and Green Lantern didn’t look like the most attentive ones. And Martian Manhunter… Needless to say, Batman had technology to deceive his powers. Sometimes connections with the League of Assassins paid off.

The shadow in the corner looked nice enough for him, and Batman tapped his comm for Oracle to start.

He needed just a few seconds to slide down, careful and silent, while the lights flickered out and the alarm blared to life, successfully muffling any little noise he could make. As suddenly as everything began, so it stopped. Everything was nice and peaceful again… Only the shadow in the corner became darker, and the heating was turned down by Oracle. 

Bruce looked down, where the edge of his cape was beautifully lined within the shadow’s borders.

“You called me, so here I am,” Bruce tilted his head to the side like an overgrown goth bird, but his gruff quiet voice was muffled by the Flash’s scream. It cut abruptly when Bruce glared in his direction.

“Oh my God, my mum told me that the monster under the bed will take me if I ate too much candy, but I never thought she was right!” Barry’s words were too fast to make sense, so Bruce waited until Oracle played the recording slower in his comm.

“I… Don’t live under beds,” Said Bruce, and Superman’s alarmed eyes landed on him. It looked like he hadn’t thought that Batman could understand a speedster’s babbling. It was just a second, but Bruce was a master at reading faces, and when Superman face became calm again, Bruce knew for certain that the alien was as surprised as the others.

He was actually really impressed that no one attacked him, the heroes were much more collected than he thought they would be. It was a point in their favour.

“Not that we could ask,” muttered Wonder Woman, her knuckles white where she held her lasso.

“You couldn’t.” Admitted Bruce. “Metas are not welcome in Gotham.”

“So, you came to make a truce of sorts?” Superman sounded kind, no surprise or resentment showed in his voice, and Batman nodded. His cape shifted a bit, vantablack armor and leather of his costume not really visible because of its color. A thin layer of lead sprayed on the inside, heat and sound muffling tech, a magical anti-telepathy amulet that was a gift from Talia, Bruce had even disinfected his skin and hair to remove any traces of his natural smell. He did everything to be able to protect his identity from even Superman.

“Yes” Batman ground out. “Gotham is mine. Metas are not allowed. I know your secret identities, but mine… you can look… but I don’t think you will find anything truthful...”

A rush of cold air made the papers slowly glide across the table and Bruce inwardly smiled — Oracle already controlled all the Watchtower’s system, even such small things like air conditioning and heaters.

“So we spent all morning on bullshit in the newspapers that wasn’t even true?” Aquaman looked rather furious. Bruce tried not to shrug. It was a bit amusing. Like an answer to his thoughts, a giggle could be heard from the depths of his cape and all heroes’ eyes were trained on it.

Bruce knew what they could see — a slight movement of heavy material made from lead fiber, strong enough to hold a bullet or Superman’s gaze; a flash of deep, blood red, fast enough to go unnoticed; then the white eyes of Red Robin’s mask.

“That’s my que to go. Call me if you will need any help… Not too often.” Batman shifted slightly and Red Robin hid in his cape, once more invisible. While Bruce was busy, capturing attention and talking, Tim was working with the nano-bugs that now were everywhere in the Watchtower’s meeting room. Soon enough they would multiply their numbers and stay hidden everywhere, finding even more information about the Leaguers. Not that Bruce needed it; after all, he found out all the Leaguers’ identities with a quick internet search, hacking some cameras and a bit of bribing. He didn’t want his identity to be known by people so careless. Silently, Batman made his way to the doors and they opened without a password. Bruce didn’t even have to slow down his pace. The doors closed just in time so Barry, who ran after him, had to punch his code to come out of the room, but to no result. Batman was already gone.

“So, that happened.” Green Lantern uncomfortably shifted in his seat. “Did anyone of you metas, I don’t know, see…”

His voice became more and more quiet with each word. Superman finally stopped looking at the closed door.

“Nothing. Just what a human could see., I didn’t even hear his heartbeat.” He admitted.

Martian Manhunter nodded. “I was afraid for a moment that I lost my telepathy, but no, it just did not work on him.”

“Do you think his cape is alive? Everyone saw those eyes, didn’t you?” Flash looked around.

“I guess, maybe it was someone else in there.” Diana sighed. “We need to look for more in the papers, ask people, maybe go undercover in Gotham. Such an ally could be a good addition to the League and he doesn’t seem hostile, just mistrustful.”

Barry mumbled something about scary bats, once too fast to hear and Bruce smiled, disabling his comm. The first impression was just as he wanted it to be.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry surely won't love Buzzfeed Unsolved so much after this

“You know that there is a Buzzfeed Unsolved episode on Batman, right?” Announced Barry, opening his laptop, YouTube page already on the screen. With the sound of shattering glass, the name of the show appeared: Unsolved.

“So, are we going to watch some conspiracy theory or something?” Hal looked on the screen in disdain. Behind Barry stood all the league founders, watching the episode with intense eyes.

“Shh, not like the newspapers have something more than theories.” Surprisingly, Aquaman answered.

_ “This week on Buzzfeed Unsolved we will be covering the story of Gotham mysterious protector: Batman!” announced Ryan and Shane looked at him with wide eyes. _

_ “Wait, wait, Batman? Did you say Batman? What else, maybe we will go in search of Bigfoot next week or talk with a grandma violated by Mothman? I thought we talk about real mysteries, not some under-the-bed monsters!” _

_ “Actually, Batman can totally defeat Mothman. And then, maybe, eat it. Mothman is just an oversized bug, isn’t it?” _

_ “You know, if they both were real, it would be a bug, I guess” grumbled Shane. _

_ “Many ghost-hunters came to Gotham in search for the elusive Batman, but no one could confirm it’s existence. Various superhero teams tried to recruit it, too, but to no avail” continued Ryan.  _

Aquaman whistled. “Well, we know that it — he exists now, not that it helped us.”

Diana hummed, agreeing.

_ “Actually. It began appearing more frequently in the past twenty years…” _

_ “Maybe it’s because people carry a good camera with them everywhere now” snickered Shane. _

_ “Maybe it is. There were just thirty or a bit more sightings of him in the past century that we know about — all in newspapers or found in diaries, but it became more active about twenty years ago” _

_ “So what are the theories?” Shane seemingly didn’t want to wait any longer. _

_ “First theory is connected with increased frequency of it’s sightings” nodded Ryan. “People said that Batman has a child” _

On screen, Shane began coughing, shocked. The Leaguers were, as well. Hal, who was staying right behind Barry’s chair, stumbled and almost fell, Aquaman cursed when Diana stood on his foot and Flash had to stop the video.

“What? What is this nonsense!” Shouted Superman, alarmed.

“Wait, Kal-El.” Diana looked at him, appearing to be deep in thoughts. “There was someone with him that day, wasn’t it?”

“But if this child appeared twenty years ago, then it couldn’t be so small to hide in Bat’s cape so effortlessly?” Said Barry. “Only if… I don’t know, it doesn’t grow? A small bat-child that clings to Batman’s cape upside down and giggles creepily. Maybe it has small bat wings, too.”

_ “No one knows if the thing is real and now it, what, has a family, two and a half children and a home with a white fence?” Shane’s words were exactly what the Leaguers thought… Except for the “not real” part. Batman was, indeed, real and scary. _

_ “Well. There was a theory that he had to show his child how to hunt. After all, even if Batman goes only after criminals, there were so many people disappearances in Gotham, criminals or not, he could just… Eat them” _

_ “You think that Batman… Eats criminals?” Shane was not amused with Ryan’s words. _

_ “There were criminals found in holding cells or in front of the police station, sure, but Batman is seemingly cryptid. He has to eat something!” Ryan tried to protect his theory. _

_ “You said that Batman is a good guy, but I don’t believe that anymore” whispered Shane. “I don’t think I will be able to sleep today” _

_ “Whatever. So, he had to show his child — if it is a child and not some kind of larvae from which a tiny Batman will appear to take the mantle in the future — how to hunt and protect himself in this world. And that is another theory.” _

_ “There was more than one Batman? Don’t you think that no one had seen him clearly to catch any details and know if it is the same thing or not?” _

_ On the screen appeared two photos. They were grainy and dark, darker shapes could be seen on both of them. With some imagination, the shapes could look like human-like figures with wings or capes. _

_ “People said, that for roughly a year five or six years ago Batman appeared to be a bit more flexible and… Mhm… Friendly. If that can be said about Batman” _

_ “Friendly?” _

_ “A criminal actually heard him laugh because of something Robin said. Police found that criminal in the morning, completely gray-haired and shaking” _

_ “Hey, hey, stop, who is Robin?” _

_ “Bat-child. You know, tiny little kid, giggles creepily, his mouth opens so wide that he can bite a grown-up man’s head off and he carries a cursed katana everywhere” _

_ “But you said that the first child became Batman?” _

_ “Well. Maybe there were a bunch of bat-eggs and they hatched one after another. When the old Bat dies, someone becomes Batman and a new Robin hatches for him, like a teeny-tiny Bat-erpillar that one day will become a Bat-terfly” _

_ “This pun was horrible” groaned Shane and Ryan laughed. _

_ “Ok. There is a theory that Batman is a vampire. No one has seen him in the daylight and he can completely disappear in the shadows. He can fly and he drinks criminals’ blood, that’s why they never escape when he leaves him in front of the police station could be seen they are too weak because of the blood loss” _

_ “I thought they never escape because he zip-ties them?” _

_ “That too. Thank God for the invention of zip-ties” _

_ “You know, for a cryptid, using zip-ties is a bit too modern, isn’t it?” Shane sighed. “Maybe, Batman is just a guy kicking criminals’ butts wearing a furry costume?” _

_ “There were people that believed this theory” agreed Ryan. “However, a seemingly immortal and invulnerable hundred-year old creature can’t be totally human. And metas are usually quite flashy. No. Batman wants to stay a mystery — surely, he is more than a simple metahuman.” _

_ “I hope so. Any human who will chose that costume to fight crimes must be totally crazy” nodded Shane. _

_ “In the end, we will never truly know who is hiding beneath the Bat-mask. This mystery, probably, will forever remain unsolved.” _

The video stopped and the Leaguers glanced at each other.

“Somehow I have much more questions now, after watching this.” Muttered Hal and everyone silently agreed.

In the Batcave Nightwing was listening to the Leaguers arguing and hummed thoughtfully. The bugs were working well enough and nanotech was hidden so well that even Superman couldn’t see it, it seems. That was good. However…

“Hey, Timmy!” He chirped happily and Red Robin looked at him from his broken grappling hook. “Did you know that there was a Buzzfeed Unsolved episode on Batman? They even mentioned me!”

“Of course I knew, I watched it. They say that Batman was active for centuries, but that's just all the false evidence Bruce had planted... And his time-travel.” Answered Tim. “You know that Jason will try to kill you if you’ll call him a Bat-terpillar, yeah?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who will tell the Leaguers that going to Gotham is a bad idea? (part 1)

“So, we need to go undercover in Gotham and learn everything we can about Batman. He didn’t look hostile but his ability to come and go to the Watchtower unannounced really concerns me.” Stated Diana on the next meeting.

_ In the Batcave Oracle already reported Batman and his children about the unusual activity of the League. Everyone began their preparations for what would come next. _

“Oh my God, why did I agree to do this.” Barry muttered a bit later, already in Gotham. He was dressed as a civilian and tried not to run too fast. He was in a dark alleyway in Gotham, anxiously looking at the roofs. Every gargoyle shadow reminded him of Batman and he felt like he was being watched. The city was too gloomy for his liking, it wasn’t even noon yet but the clouds were low and dark, the sun never came out and it looked like it was evening already.

Suddenly, someone bumped into him and Barry cursed himself for being too distracted. He cast a glance on the roofs once more and then looked at the stranger.

“Oh, I am so sorry!” The stranger that bumped into him was a girl. Her face, even obscured with big sunglasses — and who even wore sunglasses in a such dark city like Gotham — was pretty. With her blonde hair and beautiful smile she didn’t look like a local dweller. This part of the city certainly wasn’t a good place for a young girl in expensive clothes like her. Well, maybe the other parts of Gotham were even worse, Barry didn’t know for sure.

“That’s not your fault, I was too distracted by the views.” Smiled Barry. The girl laughed.

“You just moved here, didn’t you?” She giggled. “Nobody talks about the views in Gotham.”

She looked down and sighed. Just under her feet laid a paper cup, coffee spilled all over the pavement. Surprisingly enough, there was not a single drop of coffee on her expensive-looking purple jacket.

“I can pay for your coffee, it was my fault that you spilled it.” Barry offered and the girl smiled once more, tight-lipped but genuine.

“Oh, you are too nice for a place like a Crime Alley.” She said. “How did you end up in this place? Ah, and call me Steph, by the way.” She offered Barry her hand and lead him to the coffee shop nearby.

“I am Barry.” He answered. “And… Well, the rent was really low and I am at the Gotham University, so I decided why not?” He really needed to think more about his cover story.

“Pfffft, they need to pay people to live in this hellhole, not the other way around!” Exclaimed Steph.

“Why?” Barry asked. This was a good opportunity to learn what gothamites knew about Batman, wasn’t it?

Steph looked at him and even if Barry couldn’t see her eyes, he knew she was thinking hard about something.

“Well, you know…” She told him slowly and quietly, so Barry had to bend down a bit to hear her. “You heard about that bat-thing, yeah? There is something worse here…”

“What?” Barry sighed. Wasn’t it too much strange creatures for one city? How was anyone alive and sane here?

“Bat doesn’t come to the Crime Alley because it is Red’s territory. Well, nobody actually saw it… Just rumors. But I believe them!” Steph seemed excited. “It was a kid… He was killed by a demon and came back to life to avenge his death and kill the demon and the Bat because the latter didn’t protect him. He protects all the children in the Crime Alley, if you did so much as lay a finger on some kid…”

“Then what?” Barry asked, impressed by the story against his will. It sounded like a child’s horror story, but Steph’s voice turned into whisper and Barry wanted to hear what more could she say.

“First, a bloodied crowbar will appear on your doorstep, seemingly from nowhere. That’s how it warns you. If you touch it, the blood will forever stain your hands and nothing will help you to wash it off. And then… Then your body will never be found. Just bits and pieces all over the Crime Alley. That’s why the Bat never comes here, it knows that it is guilty in Red’s death… And afraid.”

“Wow.” Breathed Barry. “But surely it never actually happened? If there were any deaths they were investigated by the police and no one knows if this creature is real, do they?”

Barry felt Steph’s gaze on him, serious and solemn. It made him shiver a bit. Was the coffee shop that chilly before?

“You should search for ‘The seven dealer’s heads’ case, dude.” She said. “It was horrible.”

Barry wanted to ask for more information, but Steph’s name was called and she stood up to take her coffee.

“Oh God, Cass will kill me, I am late to meet her from her dance practice!” She was happy and chipper once more. “Bye-bye, mister Allen!” She smiled and ran off with her coffee, leaving Barry deep in thoughts. Fifteen seconds later, he remembered he never told her his last name, but when he rushed out from the coffee shop, she was nowhere to be seen.

He remembered her parting smile, teeth too sharp to be human, lips stretched too thin, and her cold touch.

There were five blood stains on his shirt, where she touched him.

“Excuse me, did you see a girl running away, long blond hair, sunglasses, coffee in hands?” He asked a homeless man that sat leaning on the wall for half an hour now — Barry remembered seeing him when he entered the coffee shop with Steph — and the man looked at him in surprise.

“What girl, man?”

Barry put some money in his alms cup anyway.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana's not mad, just dissapointed (undecover mission part 2)

 

“Ah, miss Prince.” A middle-aged man with quite a few silver strands in his dark hair greeted her in the Gotham Museum. He seemed very enthusiastic about the meeting. “It is always so nice to meet a fellow history enthusiast like myself, especially someone so famous for her hard work in our community.”

 

“You know, I am more interested in the Greek era, but you had some pretty amazing discoveries here in Gotham. Something about an ancient temple of sorts, if I am not mistaken?”

 

“Yes, yes! The urban legend — not a myth, no — that an ancient temple of the so-called Bat-God is somewhere underneath Gotham. It was not found yet, but…”

 

“Not found?” Diana was disappointed.

 

“Not yet, but we are almost there! I have all sightings of the creature and all the testaments of people who saw the temple here, in the database, but you know, with all this magic and aliens it is too difficult to find something that doesn't wish to be uncovered!” The historian was absolutely manic now.

 

“You don’t have any proof then…” Diana sighed, but her interlocutor already brought her a stack of printouts. There were statements, blurry photos and some schemes. “What is this?”

 

“Oh, that…” The historian sighed dreamily.” There were proofs of this creature, we call it Batman for short, to live through centuries, way before many of human civilizations. All over the world archaeologists find evidence of his existence — captured in art from the stone age, like this one, you see?” He shoved a photo of a primitive art, where a creature with bat wings could be seen, into Diana’s hands. “Till our times, there are photos and statements from people all over the world, but mostly in Gotham, of course. Batman was sighted even in the times of witch hunts, presumed being a demon of sorts. But we have something more… Something special…”

 

Diana, interested and impressed, followed the historian to the glass case. There, half-immersed in stone, laid something black, glinting with sharp metal edges.

 

"It… It looks like a bat!" She exclaimed.

 

“We call the thing a batarang. There are more.” The scientist pointed to the other cases, where similar things lied. “The difference between them though is incredible. This one is more than three thousand years older than the others. All of them are complete replicas of each other, we could say that they are factory-made, but the chemical analysis never lies. Batman makes these things himself for thousands of years now.” Diana was impressed. If all the information that the scientists had was true, then Batman was older than her, maybe even older than her mother. “Just think about the possibilities! This creature was on Earth when Egypt civilization was here, it could be one of the Sumerians, it was here before the Christianity was created! It could know so much, if only it could share its knowledge with humanity!”

Diana coughed, interrupting the historian. “Can it be not a one creature, but a mantle that was passed on through the generations of this Bats?” She asked.

 

“No, no way.” The man shook his head. “Look, the behavioral patterns described through centuries in diaries and newspapers are the same, even between the individuals in close-knitted group there must be some differences. The possibility of it being more than one creature is very low. It usually has a creature by his side called Robin, but…” He stumbled, not sure what to say.

 

“But?” Diana tried to encourage the historian and find out something more.

 

“We really don’t know what Robin is.” He sighed. “It looks like a kid, not aging, covered in blood. Sometimes it is a girl, sometimes it is a boy, but we still don’t know if it is the same creature changing appearances or a flock of them. We don’t know what ties it to Batman, we know nothing about it, even less than about the Bat itself. It is more bloodthirsty than the Bat, and the latter seems to ground him. That’s all that we know.”

The silence fell while Diana skimmed through the papers and photos.

 

“Do you want to look at videos? There are statements from people that have seen the bat-temple.”

 

Diana nodded.

 

The videos was almost the same. People described the dark cave filled with enormous bats and stalagmites, told about the drawings on the floor and walls, told about the master of it all. A giant man, more than twenty feet tall, with bat’s wings and a dark mask over his face. A little bit later Diana opened the first file in the folder. The video was more than ten years old and definitely not HD.

 

Diana knew the man in the video. Much more younger than the last time she saw him at a Luthor’s gala, there was Brucie Wayne. He was smiling softly, a bit confused.

 

_ “Yeah, you know, I was a brat, ran away from Alfred after my parents’ funeral, fell somewhere… Like, a big cave, bats, carvings on the walls, scared me horribly. I blacked out and then commissioner Gordon – he was not commissioner then, I guess, found me. That’s the story. I was, like, ten, I don’t even remember everything! Was somewhere near Arkham, I think!” _

 

The video was not very informative, so Diana opened the second one, filmed seemingly the same day. It opened with Jim Gordon staring at the camera. It was more interesting: commissioner told everything he remembered. There was a strange detail: while he was in one of the groups searching for little Bruce, it was not him who found the child. Another group told him that Bruce appeared in the place they searched already, seemingly from nowhere. They were returning from their search when Bruce stumbled from some cave, covered in mud.

Diana sighed. Of course, the first finding of the temple was by Bruce, who was completely useless even in remembering something so significant.

In the Batcave, Batman stood up and stretched. So much time in front of the computer was really tiring, but he wanted to see the footage from the museum that Oracle sent him. He chuckled. A word at the gala that fell to the eagerly listening ears, a memory shared with the right people, gossips and rumors… Now even people that were not in Gotham at that exact time told about the time they searched for “that poor Wayne boy” or whispered confessions about being at the secret bat-temple. No one ever admitted that they lied about it and now the rumors were so tangled that no one could ever find the truth.

Yes, he fell into the cave once – the same cave that he was being at now – but the rumor mill created an entirely different story.

This was one more layer in the carefully created story of the Bat.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> J'onn becomes a sectarian (part 3 of the undecover mission)

J’onn J’onzz considered himself quite a smart man, not as impulsive as many other heroes and very good in reading people. The librarian in the Gotham city library was really helpful the last time he spoke with her: she guided him through the library search system and seemed very polite and nice. Talking with her was a great pleasure. Out of the respect to the elderly woman, J’onn didn’t use his telepathic abilities on her. But now… Now he thought he should. He wouldn’t be in such a mess now, would he?

“Young people now are not the same, no-no, they are completely incompetent!” Her voice sounded like a screech and J’onn shuddered inwardly. “Don’t even know the difference between the thing they tried to summon and the Satan!”

“Who exactly they tried to summon then?” J’onn asked. He still didn’t want to read civilian’s thoughts and tried to learn everything she knew in the usual way.

“They tried to make a sacrifice to Barbatos. Everyone tells this stupid stories about Batman, the urban myth, the protector… Nooooo.”  She drawled. “This is a lie, right here. Everyone wants you to believe that it is just a spirit whom any wizard can banish, because the government doesn’t want people to panic. But we know the truth!” She said proudly. The woman’s eyes were really manic now. She didn’t look like a nice quiet grandma anymore – more like a banshee straight from someone’s nightmares.

“Barbat… os.” The name didn’t ring any bells in Martian Manhunter’s mind.

“He is the devil, the strongest one of the demons. That fools wanted Him to spare their lives when He will grow tired of playing the hero and stop luring people into His nets. Everyone believes that Batman is a hero, but He is not. He is a dark God, our Savior! Only the ones who served Him well will have a place in this world after the Apocalypse. His horsemen, the Robins, will wipe the Earth of every and each heretics that didn’t believe in Him and the others will live under His rule.”

That was literally one of the weirdest thing J’onn had heard of. He couldn’t quite wrap his mind around what the woman was saying. Sighing, he decided to look into her thoughts.

What he found there was… Disconcerting, to say at least.

There, in her mind, was a child, his sharp teeth stained with red, splatters of blood on the cheeks that didn’t lose the baby fat yet. The child flied, laughing happily, and transformed into a ray of light. A young man stood proud and tall, his torso was bare and a shape of a bat was carved in his muscular chest, red and bloody. There was a little red bird under his ribs where the heart should be. The domino mask over his eyes was not a mask but his skin ripped from his face in the shape of one. He offered his hand – he was the only one to lead through the darkness into the new, beautiful world.

Over the barren land and smoking ruins, barely discernible between the black and red clouds, was a figure. A giant man looming over the world, dark cape fluttering in the wind, white lenses of the mask gleaming. It was Barbatos.

“This fools tried to summon Him, but everything was wrong. They offered Him a sacrifice of thirteen children, but their pentagram was for Lucifer, not for Him. Of course Barbatos wouldn’t let someone worship anyone but Him in this city! They disappeared from the face of Earth, but let me say… The blood on the Robin’s costume was fresh for many more nights. People saw it.” She concluded, not bothered at all when J’onn made a cautious step back. And then another one.

“Thank you for telling me…” He tried to say, but the librarian interrupted him.

“Take the flyers! And this brochure!” She exclaimed and J’onn couldn’t do anything but take the stack of papers and thin black-and-white books. It reached his chin and lolled on the side, so he had to hug the papers so anything wouldn’t fall. “Our weekly meetings are held here and we worship our God and Savior Barbatos, the Consumer of the Universes so He would give us a place in the new world! The Apocalypse is near!”

J’onn wasn’t ashamed to acknowledge the truth: he ran from the cursed library and sweared to never return.

In the Batcave, Batman accepted a videocall from Oracle.

“You know about the cultists, right?” She asked warily. Bruce nodded. “And about all the Apocalypse that you will bring to Earth, too?”

“I am working on it.” He joked.

“Why Barbatos though?” She sighed.

“I don’t know, seemed godly enough at a time. There was no Dick in the stone age to name things, you know.” Shrugged Bruce.

“I knew it!” Laughed Barbara. “No way,  _ no way _ you would name something a bat-cave or a bat-plane! Dick always denied it but I  _ knew _ !”

“He was nine.” Bruce didn’t even know why he defended Dick’s naming abilities. But, after all, the names stuck, didn’t they? And Dick was so happy thereat…

“And what happened with that children-sacrificing assholes?” Barbara asked curiously.

“Went to Arkham.” A short answer was given. “None of the children were harmed.”

“That’s good. That's good...” Barbara answered. “Bye, Bruce.”

After she hang up, Bruce couldn’t stop smiling to himself. Barbara was right. Barbatos… What was he thinking?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that Barbatos is a real thing in DCU but here it is just another Batman's alias


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hal doesn't like insects (part 4 of the League's torture)

“Oh, no, oh, no!” Hal chanted, trying to dodge all the missiles. It looked like someone used the weapons that could arm a small army just to kill one man. Hal. Or, maybe, he just got caught in the crossfire of someone else’s war. His concentration threatened to slip because of the different kinds of missiles and traps. Acid pools, an army of ninjas, bullets, knives and grenades – the fight was too chaotic to catch a break and think of a plan.

“Need a hand?” A wave of water cleared the path and soon enough Aquaman and Green Lantern were fighting back to back, protecting each other. With a trusted friend, and, moreover, a powerful one too, the fight now was not so dangerous as before.

“What took you so long?” Hal even joked, but Arthur couldn’t answer. 

The air was so sweet, so thick and heavy… It was like Hal and Arthur were not in the middle of a warehouse, but in the center of a giant flower calyx. The coppery smell of blood and sweat was replaced with sickening sweetness. Hal coughed and tried to cover his mouth and nose, but his concentration was broken. Arthur was also a bit disoriented. Whatever kind of a gas it was, it affected even enhanced humans like Aquaman.

"...Wh…t...the f...i...enning..." Hal strained his ears but Arthur's voice became almost indistinguishable. Everything was blurry, like the surroundings faded with each passing second. The shadows moved and morphed into some strange horrific monsters, ninjas' masked faces turned into strange ugly grimaces. Suddenly, a demonic screech pierced the air and ninjas scattered and ran. A black figure appeared, his enormous wings bloody red and its claws, long and sharp, leaving marks on the walls. His black face was absolutely smooth, no nose or mouth, only his completely white eyes burned with rage. It moved erratically, appearing and disappearing in shadows, almost teleporting — or, maybe, it was just this strange drug playing with Hal's vision. A flash of colour, forest green and bloody red, followed the creature. Hal blacked out when the creature stabbed his arm with its claws.

When he gained his consciousness, he was outside, on the roof. Aquaman was already recovered. He was sitting beside Hal, looking warily at their saviours.

"Batman." Half whispered and both creatures turned their heads in a scarily alike motion.

"Not him." The black one of them answered. Now Hal could see the differences between this Bat and the one who came to the Watchtower that day. It was slimmer and a bit smaller, its face was completely covered in black — even when he opened his mouth there was no teeth or tongue to be seen, just a black gaping hole on a black smooth face. His ears vere long and pointed. There was a red bat on his chest, like the fabric of his costume was soaked in blood in exact bat shape. If it was a costume and not this creatures skin. Hal shuddered, remembering that theory about the Robins being just Batman's larvae, slowly molting, becoming more and more batman-y with each exuviation. Maybe bright and small Robins were poisonous, like many of the colourful caterpillars, and with each moult the colour slowly faded from their skin, until they became just black-and-gray, like Batman himself. Apparently, this one had just one moult before the red bat on its chest would become gray. How old was it? Decades, hundreds of years old? Robin was at least twenty and it didn't lose his colours yet.

Hal looked at the other Bat. Yes, that was the Robin, black cape on his shoulders, his completely white eyes gleaming from under the hood. His katana was strapped to his back. He looked like a kid. It seemed like Aquaman thought exactly that, judging from his scowl.

"Why is a child like you fighting on Batman's side?" He asked, tone seemingly disapproving. "In my country, no one would be such a coward to stay behind a child in war, to let a child go into the battle. Batman is truly awful to make children soldiers. When were you born, ten, eleven years ago?"

"Tt." Robin made a short strange sound, like mandibles clicking. It sent goosebumps down Hal's spine. He was used to fighting people, aliens and animals, not some creepy insect-children. "First of all, I was never born. I was created to fulfill a glorious purpose and I trained for more than ten years you mentioned."

His voice contained barely hidden anger. Obviously, he didn't like when someone underestimated him. Aquaman didn't seem convinced, so Hal decided to intervene.

"You are Robin." Hal said. "And you… Are you Batman's eldest… child?" He almost used 'nymph' and not 'child', but luckily caught himself before that. No way the Bats would like to be compared to insect, wouldn't they?

"I am not. Actually, I am the youngest of them all… in a way." The black Bat-creature answered. Its mouth, black from inside and outside, was almost invisible on its face. "Can I be the youngest if I am not born yet? Every time I think it is my turn to be born, someone else is. I almost gave up, maybe my parents don't want me anymore." 

The silence that fell after that revelation was uneasy. Neither Green Lantern nor Aquaman knew what to say. They couldn't even wrap their minds around Bat's statement.

Seemingly sensing their uneasiness, the Bat backed off a bit.

"You are not welcome in Gotham." He repeated Batman's words from before. "This rule was created for a reason. You can't confront Gotham's villains like we do if a simple run-in with Scarecrow and the League of Assassins' almost killed you. And if you murder someone here, even a criminal… Let me say, Batman's wrath is not a thing to be dismissed."

With that last warning he leapt from the roof, spreading his wings and flying down. Robin followed him, jumping without a hint of fear. When Hal and Arthur reached the edge of the roof, the Bats were already gone, the alley twenty floors below completely empty.

"I can't believe the day father sent me on patrol with you of all people we ran into this fools." Damian grumbled. Terry already learned to distinguish when anger in his voice was directed at family or other people. Damian wasn't really annoyed by him, just by the Leagures coming to Gotham against Bruce's orders. Terry shrugged. "Father's interview couldn't be more inconvenient. And he needs Grayson with him for whatever reason. Why did you told them so much?" He demanded answers.

"Seemed right to satisfy their curiosity. Not like they would think about the right explanation, they would find some completely crazy theory and believe in it. After all, this time and dimensions travel left even me confused. I don't really know now if there will be me in this universe. Maybe Cadmus would dismiss their plans, maybe Batman will do something. I don't really know, should I be cloned already? Am I still in plans? Maybe no one thought about creating me yet." Terry complained.

"I understand." Damian slowly answered. Terry nodded. He knew that between other Bats Damian would understand him the most — he was also created without Bruce's knowledge or consent, with a single purpose in the plans of people who made him. And he fought for himself and for what was right, without any controlling strings, not mindless after all. "Did you cover the fear toxin antidote injection marks in their arms?"

"Of course I did." Terry smiled and whispered: "The night is young, we need to go." He jumped on the next roof, Damian right alongside him.

Somewhere on the Gotham's roofs Hal examined his arms — there were four claw marks on his elbow. Arthur had them too. Otherwise, the injuries were from the previous fight, not from the Bats handling them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clark is stupid (part 5)

Clark was a bit nervous. He never was considered a celebrity journalist in the Daily Planet — as everyone thought, he lacked confidence and was not really interested in finding some juicy gossip that the general public wanted to hear. He was too average and humble to attract attention and make the victim spill some details, as someone like Lois could do. He never wanted that kind of attention anyway — it was too dangerous for his secret identity. 

So, the opportunity to interview Bruce Wayne, one of the Gotham richest businessmen, was a blessing and a curse for the certain secret hiding reporter.

The Wayne manor was huge and a bit gloomy, like the rest of Gotham, and Clark mused one more time how something so dark could be the house of someone like Brucie Wayne. He was largely known for his frivolity and, to be honest, foolishness. His galas were luxurious and over the top, his newest love interests usually ended all over the gossip columns in the biggest papers and, all in all, he didn't seem to be interested in the world aside of the brightly-lighted ballrooms and women's boudoirs. His business was completely in the hands of the board of directors of WayneCorp and his trusted friend Lucius Fox. Recently his adopted son, fourteen years old Timothy Drake, took interest in the company, but no one thought it was more than a rumor.

An elderly man, Wayne's butler, showed him the way to the living room. It was as dark as the other parts of the house, even huge windows couldn't help: the sky was covered with thunderclouds. Alfred clicked his tongue and turned on the lights on his way to leave. Bruce Wayne was already sitting in the armchair, teacup in his hands, patiently waiting.

The interview was completely useless. Clark knew about Wayne’s reputation, but he also knew better than to believe in rumors. People gossiped and they were very cruel in what they said. He never found any rumor completely true. But no, gossips about Wayne were not even exaggerated. He laughed and dodged questions, not really knowing about his company accomplishments or anything serious at all. He told Clark about parties and his children and cars he bought recently, and while all this things were interesting for the general public, Clark himself was deeply disappointed. He didn’t think Wayne would be so two-dimensional, like a cardboard character in a trash book.

“So, mr. Wayne...” Clark asked the question that he was preparing for the last half an hour. “Without Harvey Dent you now hold the title of Gotham’s White Knight. People joke that you protect Gotham by day when Batman, holding the title of the Dark Knight, does it at night. Rumors were that you were saved from quite a few kidnappings by him. Do you have any interesting details you’d like to share?” He smiled. Bruce shrugged.

“I always thought Batman to be just an urban myth.” He said light-heartedly. “Whatever, I was always saved by the GCPD and our own brave commissioner Gordon. No sight of someone dark and mysterious.” Bruce laughed and Clark tried to suppress a scowl that threatened to show on his face. He had to be polite, even with someone as foolish as Wayne. “But if he is real and working to make Gotham a better place, as WaineCorp does, then he has an open invitation to any gala that I host! After all, all hard work must be paid for, don’t you think so?” He winked.

Clark sighed. “Thank you for this interview, mr. Wayne.” He said and stood up. “I will be contacting WayneCorp PR department when the article will be ready to publish.”

“Oh, don’t you want to stay for dinner?” Bruce asked and and his tone was a bit different from what Clark heard before. But, surely he couldn’t?..

“Uhm, thank you for your offer, mr. Wayne...” He stuttered, suddenly taken aback. “I promised my wife I will be home early...”

“Ah, your wife. That reporter, isn’t she? Louise… Lolita...” Bruce tried to remember.

“Lois Lane, actually.” Clark answered. “She is one of the best reporters in Daily Planet.”

“Oh, such a shame you two didn’t come together...” Bruce started to say, but suddenly a man came into the living room where the interview took place.

“Hey, dad!” The man greeted Bruce cheerfully and the latter smiled. “Sorry, I'm late, the traffic in Blüdhaven was hell.”

Ah, so, this was Wayne’s eldest son, Dick Grayson, Clark understood.

“The interview just ended, I tried to persuade Clark to stay for dinner.” Bruce answered his son.When did Clark agree to be on a first-name basis with him? “Damian is studying at his friend’s house, Terry has a sleepover with Cass and the others have a party at Jason’s, so I didn’t think anyone would be home today.”

“Oh, yes, studying at Jason’s...” Dick muttered and Clark’s superhearing caught his heartbeat quickening. Of course, children will be children. Dick was lying to cover whatever other Wayne’s kids did, but Clark didn’t want to meddle. Whatever rich kids did, that was not his problem, Wayne could sort out everything by himself. It was time to take his leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOOK AT THE ILLUSTRATION TO CHAPTER 6 THAT I MADE  
> [link](https://ryybonko.tumblr.com/post/185728348592/illustration-for-bats-deaths-and-urban-myths)  
> I crave attention:( This chapter was shorter because I am tired, the art took, like, 10 hours to make.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cass jokes

Clark was escorted out by the same man mr. Pennyworth, Wayne’s butler. He strained his ears, trying to hear everyone. Hal and arthur were together, somewhere high, maybe on the roof. Diana and J’onn met on the square between library and museum and Diana told the martian something about ancient ghosts. Barry… Barry was running. Clark scowled. Why did Barry leave Gotham and now returned? Did something happen in Star Labs? Maybe one of Flash’s villains broke out?

Whatever happened, Barry was on his way to Diana and J’onn now. Clark glanced around, looking for cameras, and, not finding any, took off. There was a nice abandoned alley near the square where Wonder Woman and Manhunter were.

One of the gargoyles on top of the Wayne manor’s entrance arch slightly moved — its eyes, protected by lead eyelids, opened. A hidden camera silently zoomed on the Superman’s retreating form.

Clark came just in time. He was adjusting his tie when Barry appeared, slightly out of breath. 

“Diana!” He gasped. “I… I met a ghost!”

Hal and Arthur, that just started to talk about something — scarecrows and flowers, Clark didn’t really understand — fell silent.

“So, I met a girl, bought her coffee, she told me some rumors — Batman blah-blah-blah, someone else blah-blah-blah, whatever.” Barry began to prattle. “And then she just disappeared. She couldn’t walk away in just ten seconds, she just vanished! And then...”

Barry shoved a piece of cloth in Diana’s hands. It smelled of blood. Old and dried, but blood nonetheless. Only now Clark noticed that Barry has changed his shirt — the one that he was wearing in the morning now was in Diana’s hands.

“Did she hurt you?” Clark and Diana asked in the same time, concerned for Barry’s wellbeing. 

“She didn’t.” Barry answered and sighed. “It was her blood. Five stains, like fingerprints. I had to go to Star Labs, wanted to find out who she was. But the blood decomposed in mere seconds after I collected enough for analysis. There wasn’t any sign of conservants, only blood, but too old to find anything useful. No fingerprints, either. And I didn’t see her face.”

Barry seemed so disappointed because of his failure, that Hal patted him on the shoulder.

“Actually, we met two Bats today.” Arthur said and all the attention was turned to him. “We had a run-in with ninjas and poison, but were saved by Batman’s children.”

Hal nodded, suddenly grim.

“Actually, I think...” He sighed and rubbed his nose bridge. Everyone hold their breath, interested in whatever revelation Hal had. “They are not its children, just… Mhm… They mentioned that they were never born, you know? I think he finds spirits of children that were not wanted in their families, killed or tortured and kinda adopts them?” His statement sounded more like a question, but Arthur nodded thoughtfully. 

“This theory seems legit.” Aquaman said. Barry frowned.

“Steph — that ghost girl — said something about Red. He was a child killed by an evil spirit named Joker and now he haunts the Crime Alley, mostly punishing child abusers. He is tied to Batman too. Maybe he is one of the Bats?”

“Robins.” J’onn and Diana said, together.

“They have a cult here, in Gotham.” J’onn answered when Diana questioningly looked at him. “Batman is their god and Robins are his Horsemen of the Apocalypse. I don’t know much, that woman’s mind was a mess.” He shuddered in terror. Mad men were one of the most dangerous threats for a telepath. 

“Yes, there is a temple somewhere under Gotham.” Diana confirmed. “Scientists don’t know much… But Batman was on Earth for more than four thousands of years.”

 

The Leaguers fell silent. While most of them were long-lived creatures, none of them were old enough to comprehend such a long time. Batman’s mind, his lifestyle and logic — everything had to be so different from humans’.

Clark wanted to begin his story, when, suddenly, something in the air changed. The clouds somehow became darker and the air more chilly.

Diana was first to notice a silhouette on the roof. It jumped gracefully and stooped seemingly midair… But no, there was a fire escape, and the creature landed on the metal ladder, not making a single noise. Now everyone could clearly see its lithe frame and a yellow shape of the bat on its chest. Its costume covered its body from head to toe, and it looked like it was sloppily stitched over the creature’s mouth. It looked like a more dangerous black version of Frankenstein’s monster. Whatever it was, even Superman couldn’t hear its breathing or heartbeat. 

“This is the third warning.” The Bat had female voice and everyone startled. “Gotham is not for metas. You need to leave.”

There was no menace in her voice, no anger or resentment, but the message was loud and clear.

“Wait! Who are you?” Diana exclaimed.

The Bat didn’t respond for almost a minute. The leaguers didn’t expect an answer when she replied at last, her voice sounding a bit strained (that was the first emotion they heard in her voice, even if they couldn’t understand which).

“Batman. Now leave.”

After this she took off and in mere seconds was on the roof and then disappeared, accompanied with someone’s (maybe Robin’s?) sharp cold giggle.

“Did she say Batman?”

“Batman?!”

The Leaguers couldn’t hide their surprise, shouting and asking each other if they heard it right.

“Not now. We need to leave.” Diana looked around, but she couldn’t say if anyone was watching them. “We will discuss Batman and his apparently shapeshifting abilities in the Watchtower.”

Somewhere on the roofs, Black Bat and Spoiler high-fived each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made one more illustration! How that librarian from chapter 5 imagined Jason: [link](https://ryybonko.tumblr.com/post/185752004702/this-is-for-bats-deaths-and-urban-myths-too)
> 
> I don't like it very much, actually... Dami and Terry were better. Whatever, I was drawing all day today, that's why I am posting this chapter so late. Sorry!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joker!

Superman flew faster, eager to help the civilians leave the dangerous area. About half the city was covered in thick green smoke — and Metropolis was a huge city, with more than 10'000'000 people living here. And now all this people were endangered by some crazy villain. Superman could hear his mad laughter even from the other part of Metropolis, but couldn't go to him — not when civilians were dying on the streets.

 

Suddenly the woman in his arms began coughing. To his horror, Clark realized that she breathed the awful gas — her lips stretched and stretched and stretched, until a crazy smile became visible on her pale face. After that, people had a short period of violent urges, killing and maiming everybody they could see, and then died. 

 

The woman in his arms began trashing and kicking and Superman landed near an ambulance car. The medics rushed and strapped her to the gurney but without an antidote to the mysterious gas nothing could be seemingly done. With a sigh, Clark thought about all the people he saved on the streets who will die later.

 

He flew to the madman who caused this catastrophe and landed in front of him, fuming.

 

"What have you done!" He bellowed. "All this innocents never deserved to suffer!"

 

The villain who looked like a not really good clown laughed merrily.

 

"Ah, Super-super-supsy!" He giggled, red painted lips stretching into a crazy smile and green bangs falling on his face. "I heard you and your band of so called heroes took interest in my old friend Batsy so I decided to visit! I will go to Star or Central city next, and there is some hero from Fawcett, too? After all, Batman's friends are my friends!"

 

Oh god, Superman thought. Was this one of Batman's enemies? Or was the immortal creature's logic so strange and inhuman that it befriended even criminals that killed thousands of innocents and seemingly didn't regret their actions? No, that couldn't be like that. Batman, if not a hero, was a vigilante. This clown was his enemy for sure.

 

Without further ado, Superman flew forward, ready to punch the villain and bring him to the police, but the clown sprinkled in his face something like a pepper spray. Superman crashed into him and an awful thought flashed in his mind: while villain, this clown was still a human and Clark didn't want to kill him on accident. 

 

"Aww, my kryptonite-laced laugh gas works well! Give Batsy my best wishes," the clown giggled, even though his lips were stained with blood — Superman did some damage after all. "Tell him Joker still loves him even if the Bat found some new friends to play!"

 

Oh. Joker. That was that chaotic spirit's name, the one's from Gotham's myths? He possessed humans and wreaked havoc for seemingly no purpose. Under this war  paint was an innocent human and Superman couldn't save him.

 

Fortunately, Joker's gas and kryptonite didn't work together well. Yes, there were the urge to giggle crazily and the overall weakness because of the damned mineral, but Superman saw Joker sitting in a car with a beautiful blonde woman on the driver's seat, and fell unconscious only after he heard Diana's frantic shouts of his name.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batman saves the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, these chapters are really short.

The first thing Clark felt was a tingling sensation of a wound closing with his rapid healing. Something happened with his neck but when Clark touched it, the skin was not broken. 

 

"OhmygodSupesweweresoworriedandthenBatman…" Flash began talking, too fast to understand everything. Superman didn't have enough strength to concentrate on his words. Finally, Diana took pity on him and Flash stopped talking.

 

"It was one of the Gotham's rogues, the Joker," she explained. "When we brought you to the medbay you were laughing crazily and then began to suffocate. Whatever gas was that, it worked on you as well as on other victims."

 

Diana's shoulders shuddered. Clark sighed — he didn't remember laughing, just darkness, like he lost consciousness. Did the gas alter his memories too? What if he didn't laugh but went crazy, killed someone and didn't remember anything afterwards? This thought was awful.

 

"Somehow Batman knew what happened and brought the antidote," Diana said.

 

"Yes, he appeared from the shadows, like always, then bent over you and no one could see what he did but you stopped laughing and there was blood on your neck! He totally DID bite him!" Barry exclaimed.

 

"He did not. No one can break kryptonian's skin with just his teeth," Diana rolled her eyes.

 

Someone coughed in the corner and everyone in the room flinched. 

 

Superman never thought that he wouldn't notice someone so dark and huge as Batman standing in the corner all this time, but it happened. Maybe it was because he still didn't recover from the exposure to Joker's kryptonite gas, even with artificial lights above his medical bed.

 

"You don't know what the Joker is capable of. I will go after him and I don't need any of you interfering." He growled. That was the most words the Leaguers ever heard from the vigilante.

 

Batman internally smiled. New kryptonite syringes with antidote worked well. He had to give his thanks to Fox's R&D and, of courage, to Tim and Barbara — with their nanotech and cameras he knew everything that happened in the League.


End file.
